The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has assured that “there never was” a diplomatic crisis with Spain, despite the tensions generated in recent years by the request for apologies for the Conquest. Her statements were made upon her arrival at the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy in Barcelona, in what constitutes her first official trip to Europe since she assumed the presidency.
The controversy dates back to the letter sent in 2019 by the then Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to King Felipe VI, requesting an apology for the abuses committed during the Conquest of America in the 16th century. This gesture generated diplomatic friction between both countries, although in recent months there have been signs of institutional rapprochement.
In this way, Sheinbaum has insisted on downplaying the conflict and has put the focus on the historical recognition of indigenous peoples. “There is no diplomatic crisis. There never has been. What is very important is that the strength of the original peoples for our homeland be recognized,” she affirmed before the media.
The trip of the leader coincides with a stage of détente in the relations between both countries, driven by recent diplomatic contacts, among them those of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, as well as statements by Felipe VI himself, who publicly recognized that there was “much abuse” during the arrival of the Spanish to the American continent.
During her intervention at the summit, Sheinbaum proposed that Mexico host the next edition of the meeting in 2027, focused on an economic model oriented towards social welfare and a more inclusive democracy. The initiative was positively valued by the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, who expressed his willingness to work on the organization of the meeting.
In her speech, the Mexican president defended principles such as the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Likewise, she reiterated proposals presented in forums such as the G20, including the reduction of global military spending to finance environmental programs, and proposed promoting an international declaration against military intervention in Cuba, appealing to dialogue and peace in the international arena.
